A Waterloo Region Record blog on the Kitchener Rangers

November 18, 2014

The OHL 10

1. An interesting statistic that helps shed some light on the Kitchener Rangers' hot start - in a good way. The Rangers have played 15 of their 20 games against OHL western conference opponents and have lost just two of those games in regulation time. Considering the team has yet to play Windsor or Sarnia (the two worst teams in the conference), that's saying something.

2. Rangers' winger Justin Bailey gets the OHL player of the week nod and I believe that's the first honour bestowed upon a Blueshirt in all of this year or last year. If memory serves correct Curtis Meighan may have snuck in there with an academic player of the month last season but it has been a while since on-ice ability has been recognized. It has also been a long time since some Rangers were among league leaders. Bailey sits 10th in OHL scoring with 29 points. Defencemen Max Iafrate and Dmitrii Sergeev are tied for 10th for scoring among blueliners with 15 points each.

3. What's going on over in Guelph? The Storm has three wins in its past 10 games. This isn't a bad team. Particularly puzzling is the team's 77 goals against, which is tied for second worst in the OHL's west conference, especially with goalie Justin Nichols and defencemen Zac Leslie, Phil Baltisberger and Ben Harpur on the roster. Makes you realize how valuable Matt Finn and Nick Ebert were to this squad. I think the team also misses the flexibility it would have had, had OA forward Justin Auger returned.

4. I may be repeating myself a bit here but I want to reiterate the importance of making moves early instead of waiting. Long been a fan of this stratetgy. Take Niagara, a good team that has been under-performing. Instead of waiting for the guys to rebound, GM Marty Williamson goes out and does something to inject some life into the team by acquiring G Brandon Hope and F Josh Ho-Sang. Now, isntead of getting half a season out of them (had he waited until the trade deadline), he gets three quarters of a year. That works wonders in developing chemistry. Niagara has four wins in the past five games after collecting two in the first 15.

5. Kitchener goalie Dawson Carty now has enough minutes to qualify for the OHL leader board. And he sits fourth overall in GAA (2.48) and sixth in save percentage (.914). DC is turning out to be a heckuva pickup in the Capeside of the OHL.

6. I'm thinking back to my post-game interview with Sudbury Wolves coach Paul Fixter this past weekend and I believe he may have dropped another F-bomb. But this time it was "fantastic." And rightly so. The struggling, and I mean stuggling, Wolves came into the Aud and beat the hottest team in the OHL in the Rangers. There hasn't been much to rally around this season in the Big Nickel but that 3-2 SO victory was certainly one of them.

7. The Belleville Bulls are coming back down to earth. After starting the season at 9-2, the Bulls have gone 3-5-1-1. The slip isn't because of F Remi Elie who has eight points in his past seven games.

8. Lots being made about the Soo this season. But consider of the team's 15 wins, 10 have come against opponents with losing records. That doesn't mean the 'Hounds aren't for real but they have had an easier schedule to date.

9. So how big is the Connor McDavid factor? Well, Erie is 0-2 since he exited the lineup with a broken hand. Still, the top five plus players in the league wear an Otters uniform (McDavid, DeBrincat, Betz, Strome, Donnay).

Comments

The OHL 10

1. An interesting statistic that helps shed some light on the Kitchener Rangers' hot start - in a good way. The Rangers have played 15 of their 20 games against OHL western conference opponents and have lost just two of those games in regulation time. Considering the team has yet to play Windsor or Sarnia (the two worst teams in the conference), that's saying something.

2. Rangers' winger Justin Bailey gets the OHL player of the week nod and I believe that's the first honour bestowed upon a Blueshirt in all of this year or last year. If memory serves correct Curtis Meighan may have snuck in there with an academic player of the month last season but it has been a while since on-ice ability has been recognized. It has also been a long time since some Rangers were among league leaders. Bailey sits 10th in OHL scoring with 29 points. Defencemen Max Iafrate and Dmitrii Sergeev are tied for 10th for scoring among blueliners with 15 points each.

3. What's going on over in Guelph? The Storm has three wins in its past 10 games. This isn't a bad team. Particularly puzzling is the team's 77 goals against, which is tied for second worst in the OHL's west conference, especially with goalie Justin Nichols and defencemen Zac Leslie, Phil Baltisberger and Ben Harpur on the roster. Makes you realize how valuable Matt Finn and Nick Ebert were to this squad. I think the team also misses the flexibility it would have had, had OA forward Justin Auger returned.

4. I may be repeating myself a bit here but I want to reiterate the importance of making moves early instead of waiting. Long been a fan of this stratetgy. Take Niagara, a good team that has been under-performing. Instead of waiting for the guys to rebound, GM Marty Williamson goes out and does something to inject some life into the team by acquiring G Brandon Hope and F Josh Ho-Sang. Now, isntead of getting half a season out of them (had he waited until the trade deadline), he gets three quarters of a year. That works wonders in developing chemistry. Niagara has four wins in the past five games after collecting two in the first 15.

5. Kitchener goalie Dawson Carty now has enough minutes to qualify for the OHL leader board. And he sits fourth overall in GAA (2.48) and sixth in save percentage (.914). DC is turning out to be a heckuva pickup in the Capeside of the OHL.

6. I'm thinking back to my post-game interview with Sudbury Wolves coach Paul Fixter this past weekend and I believe he may have dropped another F-bomb. But this time it was "fantastic." And rightly so. The struggling, and I mean stuggling, Wolves came into the Aud and beat the hottest team in the OHL in the Rangers. There hasn't been much to rally around this season in the Big Nickel but that 3-2 SO victory was certainly one of them.

7. The Belleville Bulls are coming back down to earth. After starting the season at 9-2, the Bulls have gone 3-5-1-1. The slip isn't because of F Remi Elie who has eight points in his past seven games.

8. Lots being made about the Soo this season. But consider of the team's 15 wins, 10 have come against opponents with losing records. That doesn't mean the 'Hounds aren't for real but they have had an easier schedule to date.

9. So how big is the Connor McDavid factor? Well, Erie is 0-2 since he exited the lineup with a broken hand. Still, the top five plus players in the league wear an Otters uniform (McDavid, DeBrincat, Betz, Strome, Donnay).